Shirt to Cardigan Tutorial

I saw this little cardigan on Pinterest and I knew I had to make one up for Sprout for his Valentines photo shoot. All you need is a long sleeve shirt, ribbing in desired color and buttons.

Begin by folding shirt in half. You will be cutting up the front to create the opening. 

Match the side seems ensuring fold is centered. 

Cut shirt along the fold. If you would like to have the sweater make a "v" shape cut  the front as pictured and then cut along the fold to the hem.

For the ribbing around the front and collar cut your ribbing at 2 1/2". Length will depend on the size of shirt you are converting to a cardigan.

For the bottom and hand cuffs cut the ribbing at 4 1/2".

Pick off the neck collar on the shirt. (I also chose to pick off the little pocket.)

Take the 4 1/2" ribbing and fold it in half. Position the raw edges in line with the bottom hem of the shirt and surge around to attach.

Turing the surged seam up towards the shirt, top stitch along the bottom cuff. This helps the cuff to stay turned down and adds a look of professionalism.

Take the 2 1/2" Ribbing and lay it open. Turn down the raw edge as pictured.

Fold the ribbing in half hiding the raw edge.

Position ribbing with the raw edge .......surge around.

Measure cuff to fit around end of sleeve add 1/2" for seam allowances.. Surge along open folded edge.

Turn in one of raw edges. 

Position cuff inside of sleeve and tuck in the raw edges into the folded edge.

Stitch around cuffs.

Hand stitch along the cuff seam. 

Line up the front of the sweater so that the front overlaps.

Mark button holes every 1 1/2" 

Stitch button holes. 

Overlap the front again and make a dot in each of the button holes to mark where to stitch the buttons. 

Stitch on buttons.

A quick and simple project that has a pretty big wow factor!

Janurary Phone Favorites

January was dull. I had a mad case of the January blues and I wasn't feeling like getting much of anything done which is why this round up of pictures is just us lounging and let me tell you it was just perfect! 

 January 3rd our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson passed away. At first I was just heart broken. And then almost in the same instant I was so happy for him. At long last he gets to be reunited with hsi dear wife Francis. I can't imagine the joy that must have been at that sweet reunion. What a wonderful man and what a beloved Prophet!

We spent a lot of time playing with our friends next door. duke was really into this SWAT outfit! 

How my kids get up and down the stairs while the gate is up. :)

And the reason why the gate is up! Sprout is one busy busy baby!

Our trash Panda strikes again!

Waiting for the bus.

Give me alllll the foooood!!

 This boy is cruising!

E and I once again have twinning dresses so the family got all dressed up in black and white for church one Sunday. Also love that Duke and E are holding hands!

 Peanut caught Strep this month and it was so sad. 

Waiting for Brother to come home!

There he is!!!!

The YW went ice skating as an activity and it felt so wonderful to be out on the ice again!

 Brother Hensley took this picture of me. Resting B face. Haha

Mama caught strep throat too and was out of commission for two days. Ugh. 

These two are BFF's!

E celebrated 100 days of school!! I was a bit disappointed that they didn't get to dress up but she had a great day!

And finally an evening at the temple with the youth doing baptisms. It was a much needed visit and I hope that we will go more this year! 

And that's a wrap, February is here and I am feeling a burst of energy! Time to work on projects, prep for parties and rock out Valentines week! Oh what fun!

Snowy Days

 We had another ice storm and it was once again highly anticlimactic. I wish I could take credit fro this beautiful picture though. Isn't it magical? Michelle (my next door neighbor) captured this beauty from her back window.

 By teh time I had gotten out there the sun was too high in the sky. Twinkle twinkle. 

 We got a few terrifying icicles, that Mama promptly knocked down after taking a picture. 

 The kids were excited to play in it. 

 And E made a snowman. It's times like these that a yearn for the north. I want at least two feet of snow with sunny crisp days so we can build a ligit snow man or even an igloo. My G-pa made us an igloo one year and I played outside for hours. We carved out a table and a chair and I had my lunch outside and made up a pile of snowballs to defend my home from intruders. Maybe one year we will go to Canada in March to play in the snow. 

 Until then I will savor these few days a year and be thankful that we even get snow at all.

Baseboards

 Another day, another project. It had been awhile since the sisters had come over so I enlisted them to help paint some baseboards. 

 We tackled the living room as it was the easiest room with the least amount of furniture. We rocked out the baseboards so fast that we deiced to keep going and do the window sill as well. Sister Buma was a pro, very meticulous. 

 

Sister Wright is pretty much here for comedic relief. She has learned quite a bit during her time here with me. We have painted, hung shelves, she learned how to use a level, reorganized the house and just had fun. I am very greatful for these ladies and their willingness to jump on board and do anything!

9 Months

• Weight: 26lbs
• Nicknames: Sprout, Sproutatticus, Goo Goo
  
  

• If I though he was busy last month, things have definitely escalated! Sprout starts moving the second he gets out of his crib and he only stops to nap! He is always on a mission and has started to become quite the little rascal.
• His routine has remained the same and I am rather enjoying it. His naps are getting longer which is a game changer!
• He is still not sleeping through the night but he is getting up less frequently. He has had to endure a bit of tough love, but I have faith he will improve more as time goes on. :)

• Leif is still all. about. the. food! His new favorites are steamed carrots, pasta and anything that you are eating. I tried to feed his baby food and he would swat it away and cry. I offered him some pot pie soup and he downed half on my bowl. He does enjoy pouches however but insists on holding it himself. He is quite adventurous trying Chipotle, grapefruit, eggs, beans, french fries, all of the soup, mashed potatoes, peas and so on. He is a veggie lover and usually throws fruit on the floor.

• Sprout is super close to walking. He has mastered the furniture surf and is starting to get more confident. He likes to surf from chair to chair, closing small gaps that are outside his reach. He has started standing independently, only for a few seconds at a time, and enjoys walking holding your fingers. He still lacks coordination, but his will is there!
• Leif possesses a 6th sense telling him when the bathroom door is open. This boy loves to rip apart trash cans and if the bathroom door is open even for a minute, he's in there.

• He is talking a lot more and using words consistently, he can say Mama, Dada, More, and Dot it. The got it is hit or miss but nothing makes a Mama heart swoon then her baby calling for her!
• Sprout is still a Mama's boy but boy does he love his Daddy. I was carrying Sprout around as I was tiding up and I went to put something in the garage as I went to open the door Sprout was bouncing around in my arms like a jelly bean, so excited, I opened the door and he audibly sighed. Poor boy was looking for his Dad. A few minutes later I took him upstairs to the office and he started jumping around again. He peeked his head around the door to look at the computer and once again Daddy wasn't there and he got really sad. Having Daddy come home is the highlight of Sprout's day. Those two are just adorable together.

• Sprout loves towers and knocking them down. He has also started a game where he will kneel beside you raise is hands over his head and say "HAAAAAAA AHHHHH" as he belly flops onto your tummy. It is the cutest!
• He is not into signing and I suppose some kids just aren't. He still shakes his head and is learning how to communicate with us.
• Leif got a tooth!!!! His first tooth poked through 1.10.18 on the bottom. The other three are very close to coming through too. I call him razor tooth and darn it that bad boy is sharp. He's only bit me once since his tooth came through and I am hoping it never happens again.

•  Sprout can climb the stairs in less than 20 seconds. He has yet to master going down but up he's mastered!
• He is a big fan  of the BIG slobbery kisses and I love each and every one of them!!!
• He as the biggest personality and I feel as though I am talking to a big boy and not a baby when we play. He has opinions, wants to be heard, wants to play, and he's changing so quickly! 
• Sprout is still huge and bulky but he's becoming a bit more lean. I suppose constantly being on the go would do that to you. 

New Years Resolutions

I can't believe we are here! January, fresh, clean starting a whole new year! I am feeling a mad case of the January blues. The holidays are over and so is the rush, the thrill, the excitement so I figured it was a good time to set some goals, and to get excited about new projects! So, here are my resolutions for 2018!

1. Say Yes More! I really think that about sums it up. I want to say yes more to my kids. To embrace the chaos and leave the dishes to sit and read a story or pause laundry to make that craft or build lego's or stack a tower for Leif for the 400th time. This past year I have felt the rush of time worse than ever before. I have had the moments of mourning looking at the kids and thinking why am I not enjoying them more? And I have also had the moments of this too shall pass. Motherhood isn't always sparkly or glamorous. But this life and this family is what I prayed for and here I am in the thick of it and I am loving it. I have started to set things aside and really focus on the kids. Make that puzzle, play super heros, play patty cake and I have found so much more joy! I find it even more so when I ask them to play. I love seeing their eyes light up when I say "Hey I've got 20 minutes, what game would you like to play?!" I've been working on this awhile, but I think my main goal for 2018 is to just keep saying yes more. 

2. Expand My Etsy Store. Last year my store almost doubled it's sales from the year before. I was amazed. With that small bit of extra income, I was able to purchase our couch and it felt so good to say "I bought that!" Now I don't make much and I know that but I would like to continue to grow. So from a business stand point I would like to finish and publish my current quiet book and make a second one this year. I would also like to create an Instagram and start improving my social networking. I don't want my store to become work, so nothing big or crazy but put in a bit more effort and continue to make more sales. I am really excited for this year! 

3. Maintain My Home. Not that I'm a slob, but there is room for improvement and it's mostly because I get lazy. And while I realize that you can't play with your kids, have a clean home, blog, work on projects and make dinner every night, I know for certain that I can watch a bit less Netflix and fold more laundry. I just need to up my game a bit more. 

4. Improve My Relationship with my Heavenly Father...again. I suck. I did say my prayers more, but daily..... no. Not even close. I have no idea why I find this so hard. I have resolved to do a 30 before 30 list and one of those things is to read the Book of Mormon. I have never done that and I figure I probably should. So I want to start reading every MORNING! If it doesn't happen in the morning, it won't happen at all! 

5. Drink Less Soda. For the longest time I had cut soda ouy entirely. It was great. I craved it like no other but I didn't find it hard to say no to. I went about 6 months and then I started drinking it once a week when we would go to Costco for our traditional Saturday lunch. Then somehow I started drinking more and more. I had limited it to one a day but a few days ago I realized I had drank almost 3 in one day. So now it's time to cut back. Currently I am having one every other day. I had the worst caffeine headache yesterday and that was not okay with me. I shouldn't crave it like that! The plan is to go every other day and then every two days and get back to once a week if any at all.

And there you have it my super simple 5 goals for the year, because I need to be realistic and not expect too much of myself. Come June I will reassess and make more or buckle down harder. Happy New Year everyone!